This invention is directed to a wall construction wherein individual modular units which utilize a series of cross braces proximal to both ends of each individual modular unit are used in the construction.
In recent times man has had to face the reality that there are only a limited amount of resources available on this planet for his use. Included in the group of resources which man must learn to conserve are both construction materials and fuels. In constructing buildings, factories and homes, construction techniques must take into account both local and national construction codes. These construction codes were designed to provide both safe buildings and to insure that the consumer was getting an equitable value for his money.
Many local building codes and/or construction techniques were enacted or came into use during prior decades when both construction materials and fuels were in more plentiful supply. Additionally, construction labor costs were lower in respect to average income and therefore housing and other buildings were more attainable for the average individual.
In building a standard frame house a foundation is layed and on top of the foundation along the perimeter of the foundation a series of sole plates are layed down and attached to the foundation, either by bolts preset into the foundation or by spikes or nails driven into the foundation through the sole plates. Generally, most building codes consider a standard 2.times.4 as adequate for the sole plates. Extending from the sole plate at typically 16 inch centers are 94 inch studs. On top of the studs are placed two top plates. The top top plate or tie plate is, in effect, used to hold the individual bottom top plates into a unit structure.
Arrangement of the studs at both outside and inside corners can be one of several acceptable assemblies. At each corner a section of wood from the corner studs must be exposed along each wall. This is necessary to attach either lathing (old construction) or drywall to the studs at the corner. Typically this is accomplished by having three 2.times.4's assembled together such that they form a 4.times.6 (for the purposes of this specification wood removed in planing the lumber from rough stock to finished stock will be ignored) and then placing a fourth 2.times.4 with its 4 inch side along the 6 inch side of the other group of three 2.times.4's. This allows a 2 inch extension of wood to project at the corner for tacking the drywall.
As alternate construction actually utilizes a 4.times.6 in place of the three 2.times.4's, plus the additional 2.times.4 as was previously described. Other constructions utilize three 2.times.4's at each corner and leave a 2.times.4 space near the outside wall. As with the previously described construction these constructions are designed to leave a strip of wood along each side of the corner on which to tack the drywall.
Within the interior of a building standard methods of joining an interior partition or wall to an outside wall at a standard 90 degree angle include the use of either two 2.times.4's spaced approximately two inches away from each other along the outside wall and a third 2.times.4 attached to these other two, forming the end portion of the partition, or using larger lumber such as two 2.times.6's jointly between the outside wall and the partition wall and tacking on a 1.times.2 on each six foot side of the 2.times.6's for joining wall boards to the framing.
It is standard when forming windows or doorways to have a header traverse the space between the studs on top of the window or doorway and have a series of cripples between the header and the top plates. For doorways, between the floor and the header on the inside of the doorway, and for windows, between the sill and the header on the inside of the window, trimmers are attached.
As can be gleaned from examining these methods of construction a large portion of the lumber used in framing a structure is utilized just in joining walls together and for each piece of lumber which must be joined to another piece of lumber, construction labor time is spent.
In warm climates, houses are usually constructed without basements and utilize concrete slabs as foundations. When the slab is poured bolts are embedded in the concrete to which the sole plates are attached. If the slab is finished with a concrete finishing machine it is very difficult to make sure that the portions of the slab between the bolts on which the sole plates rest are smooth and level. As a result, spaces can be left between the sole plate and the slab and/or the wall will not be "true" and square.
In all but the warmest climates, insulation is placed inbetween the spaces between the studs in the walls of a structure. This effectively prevents heat loss through these areas; however, wherever a 2.times.4 or other wall structure traverses between the inside and outside wall of the structure heat loss can occur both through the 2.times.4 or other board and along the seams wherein two boards join. It is obvious that the greater the amount of individual boards and/or seams in a wall the greater the heat loss will be along that wall.
In addition to the desire to conserve resources with rising construction labor costs it is also advantageous to construct a structure in such a manner that labor is minimized. With the recent rise in construction costs this factor is adding to other economic factors which are placing ownership of a home out of range of the common individual.